It was a long 2 years of wait, but finally on a gloomy English day the
gods looked down and smiled upon the 'Wood, blessing them with their
first league win since August 2002. Once again they were treated with
a complete lack of respect by the opposition, sent in to bat in the
false hope of having them skittled and be back home before Coronation
Street.
Early on this seemed like it would be the case, teetering at 14-3
after Downing, Watson and Osman were all sent packing. However a solid
partnership of just under 100 by Bone and Wedlake steadied the ship,
and set the platform for a very long batting lineup. Unfortunately
Bone went in typically unorthodox fashion right before drinks, and his
partner perished soon after to continue his run of unconverted
50's. Fortunately some brilliant hitting and running from skipper
Hodgkinson and Welsh (the small twin brother of Bone) ensured Luton
would have to chase a competitive 188.
A catch was taken 2nd over into the widely renouned bucket hands of
Downing and it was game on. Apparently there must be a coaching manual
at Luton Library called 'How to play the cut shot to every ball you
face' because some of the following strokeplay was some of the more
bizarre seen on the Common in recent memory (at least since Martin
Russell had batted anyway).
These annoyingly effective batsmen were soon removed, then came the
turning point. A ball from Wedlake spat off a length towards throat
level, where it seemed to all present that it was then gloved straight
in the air to complete a vital wicket. The batsman, who had slapped a
quick 60, hung around complaining it struck his forearm but was wisely
sent packing by the umpire. The 'Wood then truly believed they could
do it, and a late flurry took them so close they could smell it. 2
great catches from the skipper and Osman (who took his one handed when
2 would surely have sufficed) put Luton 9 down and 30 short. 3
boundaries off the 1st three balls of a Wedlake over swung the
balance, until a moment that will surely go down in the great moments
of cricket history. A ball was hit solidly out to the boundary where
Hodgkinson A stood, and as the ball reached him the batsmen took off
for a dicey 2nd run. A clean pickup, pinpoint accurate throw and a
nerveless take and removal of the bails had the batsman well short,
which kicked off massive celebrations in the outfield. The relief was
evident, and it was rich reward for a team now playing good cricket
within a great team spirit.
Big credit must first go to captain Hodgkinson, who has lifted a
sinking ship and pointed it towards survival in Div 1, with his own
unique style of overused cliches, lack of bowling changes and big warm
fuzzies. Also on the day to the two bowlers who bowled through the
44.4 overs for 5 and 4 wickets respectively, although the century runs
against the Kiwis name was not quite the 100 he hoped for! Also a
pretty good fielding display, led by great catches to Hodgkinson R,
Osman, Botterill, Wedlake & Downing, plus a brilliant ground fielding
display by John 'bucket hands Shafe who saved 20 vital runs all on his
own.
The long wait only made the taste of victory sweeter, especially for
the Kiwi who shook the ever growing monkey off his back and could
finally give the finger to all ridiculing emails recieved in 12
months. Finally also a big full credit to Johnny the ginger express,
who felt so proud of the effort he more than joined in the festivities
later on. Well done John, and great win fellas! Watch this space for
more victory reports to come.
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